A Plethora of Dreams
by EphemeralBliss
Summary: He was a normal teenager with the burden of a large enterprise on his shoulders. She was a gypsy girl of 18th century Japan captured by a group of mysterious slave travelers. She and her fellow 'comrades' find themselves gobsmacked onto the face of future, with them finding themselves in his basement.
1. Tread In All Innocence

**Disclaimer ****I'm a simple human of simple interests, so how can I own something as complex as Naruto? Unless I become an Einstein though...although the possibility of _that_ happening is remotely minute...**

**Chapter** **one: Tread in all innocence**

Life has its own perks. Life is unpredictable. Life has its own share of excitements and thrills. Each soul on this planet is livid: each one is like a crystalline snowflake, descending down, slowly. It is during this period that one must live life to its fullest. Life is not everlasting, in some ways, it is like twilight. The elegantly sculptured snowflake, the short-lived rose, the magnificent ice sculpture, the soothing lullaby being droned by a loving mother's lips…everything will not studiously flow. One day, the flow will be cut. And when _that_ happens, we realize the true gift of life happiness

A rustle. A faint rustle. She swore that her ears had picked up the offending sound. She cursed herself for not taking precautions and for taking the unsafe path to the leaf village, but of course, she was careless. It was her nature, she decided, and she couldn't do anything about it. Part of her wished to be killed, or at least kidnapped. These shortcuts; especially these kinds of highways were notorious for kidnappers. The unsuspecting rich victims were either kidnapped for a ransom, and the poor ones were bound forcibly as slaves. She was far from nobility. The tunic she was wearing was the only cloth she had. If she was wearing a gender-neutral cloth, one might easily mistake her as a male for short-cropped spiky black hair and facial features.

"It's probably an animal. I should be on my guard." Reassuring herself, she didn't fasten her pace. She wasn't a hasty person by nature. Everything would take its own time, and so be it.

The rustle came again. And this time, it alerted her of a human presence. Before she could back away, she felt an arm engaging her neck in a tight choke hold. She opened her mouth, but no words came out and didn't do much but growl, kicking and thrashing her legs about in a futile attempt to slip away. Then she fell pliant in her captor's arms, feeling numb.

The first captor was soon joined by another. To her surprise he looked quite young, a dull teen, no more than her age. If she could crane her neck to observe the male who was holding her, she could easily discern that he looked young, too. She didn't struggle, not any longer.

Huh, not because she didn't want to. The needle of a tranquilizer clearly shone on her left shin.

"She is the Mizukage's niece, isn't she?" The one holding her asked his fellow accomplice, who was slouching. His raven hair was stuck in a comical fashion, almost like a duck's tail.

"Hn."

The first one sighed, propping the girl against a tree. "How troublesome…" He murmured.

"We'll have to make sure, just in case. I don't want Orochimaru having my head if we caught the wrong person."

"Hn. Check the mission scrolls. She was assigned for a secret political conference between Iwagakure. She closely resembles the Mizugake, and if I' am not mistaken she is coming from the assigned route.''

Shikamaru drawled, "That's not at all convincing. Well, when the time comes, Orochimaru will find out if she is the heir or not. And then he will have my head and,'' He paused, looking at the other boy. "And yours, as well."

He looked into the distance. It was a wonderful piece of scenery indeed, with Sakura trees dotting it here and there. He wished for a decent nap, but with an incomplete job to do, wasn't able to.

'I' am travelling with a revenge-obsessed idiot…' Shikamaru perfectly knew about Sasuke's past and frankly, he didn't give a damn. That boy needed to grow up. He realized that he could never understand the torture that the boy had undergone, seeing his parents killed before his eyes. And to top his woes, Uchiha Itachi vanished into thin air since his parents' death. He was considered as a wanted criminal.

Without a word, Sasuke motioned for him to get up with the girl. And soon, both of them were walking towards their bunch of caravans, at a leisurely pace.

Sasuke could never forget the trauma he had undergone that night. Itachi, being only a mere pubescent teen of 13 had first stabbed his parents while they were in a deep slumber, sparing only Sasuke, for some unexplainable reason. Sasuke, only four at the time was filled with horror. The exact details about why his parents were killed were unknown. Orochimaru then captured him, and made an offer. He offered his brother's whereabouts and in return, he must be a part in his 'army'.

He was no fool either. He knew that Orochimaru was hell-bent on power. He kidnapped orphans and pre-pubescent kids who showed promise and potential, and under the cover of a noble lord, trained them to be professional assassins. Slaves were not uncommon in eighteenth century Japan. It was not illegal to have a bunch of them either. The royalty of the highest order had a bunch of them, each member of the upper class held slave processions from time to time.

He had to grudgingly accept that Orochimaru was a very slithery, deceiving snake. He was deceitful and astute. He trained an army of professionals. The coup d'état he was planning was to be held under a month and was joining some forces with a man named Madara.

Of course, every plan has its own flaws and all the emperors and kages were close to ruining his plan. Spies and masters of espionage painfully dug out every single scrap of information they could discern, and soon rumors were flooding across Japan about the 'mysterious relics' or the 'slave travelers'. There was a panic outburst when one of the Leaf villages' council halls got burnt up in an accident. Many innocent citizens and council elders died on that day, causing the Hokage to go into a mourning state.

Sasuke might only be the one having any knowledge of Orochimaru's scheme, the rest being the sound village. One by one each village was weakening, and he was recruiting more men into his army. The ultimate plan was to overthrow all the kages, being the supreme head. Then he can worm his way through the minds of those pathetic village councils.

So why was he contributing to that scum's plan anyway?

Sasuke was not to be underestimated. He planned on killing Orochimaru the moment he could collect enough information about his brother. Then he'll go about his own way. As for this Madara person, he wasn't even sure if he existed.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, had his own suspicions about Orochimau, but nevertheless, remained blissfully ignorant. An ordinary slave he was. How he got captured was a mystery. But he didn't mind as long as he got his amount, some food and water. Thank heavens that Orochimaru was not a miser!

But some slaves had to do these 'side missions' to keep refilling the man's treasury. His hair which resembled a pineapple bobbed up as he groaned, thinking about this particular one mission. He hated abducting. Orochimaru's assistant, Kabuto had assigned both of them to capture the Mizukage's niece. Apparently the girl was very skilled in diplomatic conferences, and was very dear to the Mizukage himself.

"Che. I've done this type of ransom missions for less than a month now. And it's a troublesome job. Maybe I'll pretend to be injured or something."

He knew better. He couldn't act according to his own accord if he was owned by Orochimaru. All the same, he_ didn't _want to act, why else but purely for troublesome circumstances.

Unknown to Sasuke, Naruto Uzumaki was patiently laying in wait for him in between the cluster of caravans, waiting to settle a score with him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hinata sneezed as a powerful sun beam enveloped her tent.

"What's the time?" She wondered. Opening the flap of the tent, she gave out a high-pitched squeal.

"Temari-chan! T...Temari –Chan! Wake up!" The girl urgently started shaking the said girl. A snort followed by a disheveled and a very annoyed Temari rose from beneath the depths of some rags.

"What in the world?" She started rubbing her eyes, flipping over to snuggle some more into her makeshift bed. "What do you mean calling other people in the middle of the night?"

"M...midnight?" Hinata arched her brow, incredulity evident in her tone. "Temari-Chan, wake up!"

"Heh?" Temari shot up, looking dazed, and yelled, yanking off the rags covering her body forcibly. Her will to sleep dissipated almost quickly as it came.

"Kami! Hinata, why didn't you wake me up?"

"I' am sorry!" She squeaked, afraid of facing the fiery blonde's wrath. "I…I overslept!"

Without waiting for a reply, Temari dove in her and Hinata's small pile of neatly folded yukatas, and grabbing one, plain, neat, folded one, and tore out of the tent.

Stunned, Hinata mechanically followed the same procedure before bounding off after the blonde.

Dozen pairs of dull eyes cascaded upon them as they ran, murmuring voices floating about.

"These people didn't even bother to wake us up." Temari muttered sorrowfully. "We won't get breakfast, that's for sure."

Reaching the soft brook, they slipped behind a rock and stripped off their clothes feverishly. With a tremendous splash, they both dove into the water.

Hinata finished washing their old clothes as soon as Temari heaved herself on the land and wrung her hair.

Temari quickly collected their damp clothes.

"The caravans leave in half-an-hour! Get!" She yelled.

Bare- footed, they both ran on the gravel, crunching small bits of crumbled stones as they ran.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Teme," A very much battered and bruised blonde nudged Sasuke. "Have you spotted them yet?"

"No dobe."Sasuke replied, also sporting an eye bruise. The beauty patch was now slowly changing to a dull black color.

Uchiha Sasuke was irked. Very much irked. And he rarely got irked. After Shikamaru and he had reached the caravan cluster at six in the morning, he got ambushed by a predator-like Uzumaki. Naruto had pretty much managed to kick his a**, which deflated his pride all the more.

Shikamaru was smirking. He knew about Naruto's little plan all along.

"Oi!" A panting Temari and a weary Hinata soon emerged from beneath the horizon.

"You're late." Sasuke deadpanned, before turning and walking ahead of them. Temari sneered, halting to a stop in front of him, thus effectively blocking his way. She then gagged, seeing his eye, and then craned her neck to view a grumbling Uzumaki, who was trying his best to give an edited version of what happened to him to Hinata.

"Move out of the way, onna."

"So pretty boy finally got his butt kicked, eh?"

Sasuke roughly pushed her aside, and with a sting of colorful curses going off in his head, strode ahead.

Temari grinned after him smugly. The entire party trudged as Naruto started a one-sided discussion about ramen, towards the group of caravans, where several other slaves were packing up their tents for a normal traveling day. Their next destination was Iwagakure, where Orochimaru had a mansion.

Hinata puffed and struggled with all her and Temari's belongings, depositing them inside Shikamaru's and Naruto's caravan. Hopefully they had enough space to reside in for the long journey. Last time when they had made a trip to Suna, some had to walk due to a lack of caravans. She was one of them, and didn't want that experience to come along any time sooner.

She almost swooned when she realized that she had a huge makeshift tent to dismantle, but then Temari wasn't useless. Her jaw nearly bounced at the sight of Temari, with her inhuman strength, soon made the tent into a shapeless heap. She deftly folded the canvas-like material and threw the wooden beams into the corner of the caravan, brushing her hands. Hinata slowly collected her jaw back. Sometimes she couldn't understand Temari. She digressed that the world entirely comprises of exotic people. From Temari's viewpoint, she hadn't met anyone as timid as Hinata. The girl could put a mouse to shame.

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Sasuke and Naruto were currently grooming all the horses in the nearby stable.

Sasuke was rubbing his horse furiously, the occasional swish-swash of the brush being heard. The poor horse emitted a low whine. Yes, in case you were wondering, horses can give out an indignant yelp if they want to, even if they cannot give produce the colorful vocabulary that us humans do.

"Be careful there," Naruto warned, treating his own horse with care. "Be careful in that spot there. I had gotten a nice roundhouse kick from that fellow two weeks ago."

"Hn."

"You know Sasuke; you really are a source of all my problems."

"…"

"You always land me in a trouble of some sort. I've had indigestion for quite a while now. I think it must be your behavior."

"It must be all your stale ramen." Sasuke grunted.

"Hey, don't insult my ramen like that! It was perfectly delicious the last time I tasted it!"

"Dobe, no one eats ramen around here except you. The cook gave you some of the last week's residue. Last time when you scooped up a bowl, by gazing at it I could make out that it was stale."

"Sasuke, that has to be the longest sentence you have ever spoken to me!"

"…"

"But still…don't underestimate the power of my ramen! Come on! You are back to being silent now! What did I do!? Aaha! I understand now! It was something to do with Temari and how she teased you, right?" Naruto gave a toothy, suggestive grin.

"Shut up."

"AH!" Naruto sang dramatically, "How you wound me Teme! How the jibes of one's friend stab one harder than a blade of a sharp sword! And I'd rather…"

And Sasuke choked on his own saliva as he watched Naruto's steed landing him a powerful kick on his gut, successfully making him slam on the opposite side of the stable. His vision was blinded by bright light as he slithered down.

"…have an iron rod shoved up my ass." The blonde completed, dazed.

"Tough words." Sasuke shrugged, resuming the arduous task of scrubbing his horse clean.

Xxxxxxxx

At the young, lively age of sixteen, Temari was a logical, perspective teen. Peering into her glassy blue orbs is indeed a kind of a massive challenge. Besides unfeigned annoyance, it was impossible to catch a glimpse of her soft side. Of course Hinata knew better as Temari, if unguarded, had a soft interior. Hinata, however, was a few months younger than the blonde.

"Are we ready to go?" Hinata spun around her heel to address her friend, only to trip, giving an ear-piercing squeal.

Temari, upon hearing the scream accidently trod upon the girl, who whimpered, and fell atop of her.

Shikamaru cast a sympathetic glace in their direction.

"Um…sorry?" Sakura smiled sheepishly at Temari, peering from above them, running her nimble fingers through her pink locks. She offered a hand to help them up, which Temari instantly swatted away.

"Temari Chan!" Hinata admonished softly, "t…that's rude."

"What do you want, pinkie!" Temari growled, heeding no attention to the objecting Hinata.

"What do you mean?" Sakura's hands balled into fists. "I told you I'm sorry!"

"Well," Distrustful eyes assessed the girl standing in front of her. "I know you did that on purpose. Now scram off."

"Like wise." Sakura sneered, feeling rejected, a pang of sorrow washing over her.

They both watched as Sakura hastened away from them.

"I don't think we can trust her, that's all." The blonde crossed her arms. "There'd something more to her which I cannot quite lay a finger on."

Hinata sighed, looking at her reproachfully. Oh well, the fiesty blonde wasn't the one you wanted to mess with.

"Now skipping back, where did you keep that wicker basket? It needed some mending." Temari asked obstinately, firmly changing the subject, her tone laced with daring. But she had to admit, in some ways, Hinata seemed to her as a reproaching mother.

Both stared at each other for a long time, stares never unwavering.

"Fine oh fine! My! I'am not a highclassed geisha, for one, Hinata! I'm damn sure I don't want to make any prissy-assed friends!"

"I...incorrigible..." Hinata sorrowfully mouthed to herself, while Temari started uttering ancient curses about her friend's shocking,unacceptable kindness.

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**A/N:**There you go. Honestly guys, in all, I think the last part sucked. It was quite unnecessary, but I wanted to contain all the potential characters you'll meet in this chapter. Also, the rest of the main cast will appear in the later chapters. I'm not, repeat, I'm not going to introduce all the characters in one go. And on a slightly less important note, please contribute one half of your minute to leave a review. We writers write chappies for your purpose (and partly because it's fun!) so dedicate at least fifteen secs for reviewing.

**The first chapter is finished. I humbly apologize for making it shorter than intended.**

**And this is set in eighteenth century Japan, if you are curious. Gah! I think I may have jeopardized Japan's entire history. I'm not going to skip to the time travel part quickly; I want to give a good description of all the side characters now. I'll also try to update regularly. But for now, I need your opinion for this chapter. Did I make any of the characters ooc? Do I need to continue this project? How is my language? How is the setting? I need your encouragement to continue this fiction. **


	2. Relief and Indignance

**Chapter 2- Relief and Indignance**

Her heart thudded. A rhythmic beat. Then another.

For her, she did not even know when the world was so bright. Easing a pounding headache, her hand mechanically moved towards the spot where the needle had been inserted. Raw, red skin itched furiously underneath her rags. Whatever herbs those people had used to conjure up the sedative clearly had some side effects. At the moment, she didn't want to enter the gloomy possibility of being used as a side experiment. Not that she had any choice now, for that matter. Blinking, she took one glance about the place she was currently being held in. It was better than spending her nights on the forest floor, to say the least. Was it just her, or was the 'room'…quivering and shaking?

"Where am I again?" She wondered, and quickly, as if on an impulse, the events of what happened before she passed out flooded her mind.

"I have a good mind- or maybe it's just my intuition- to get out of this dreary situation." The last thing she wanted was to be knocked the –what-living-daylights-already-left-in-her- out by slaving. Pictures of her struggling to carry a heavy load, or even worse, cleaning the pile of dung in the stables, immediately popped into her mind. And, it was in no case, pretty. She could vouch that.

Don't get her wrong. She had her own share of toiling in the past ten, or maybe eleven years of her life, and it was more than enough. Hoping to get a decent job as an ordinary household maid in Konohagakure had been her solution. And look where it had landed her into…

"I guess I better find something better to do." By something better she meant to project a plan to escape out of the confines of her mind, and act according to it. Judging by the spinning gears in her mind, she was on it, already. A sudden jerk almost threw her out of the makeshift straw cot she was laying on. She realized, with a start, that she was in a travelling caravan.

She now breathed in the full view of her surroundings. It was cramped, and gave her a sense of nausea. Maybe it was the result of spending too many days out walking in the freedom that the dense forest had to offer. Either way, she decided that she wanted to get out. Then and there.

To her unfortunate luck-or as she implied; the curse of the Gods upon her- she discovered that the doors were locked. And she had no material which she could put to efficient use to jimmy the door open.

"W…what…" She felt dizzy all over a sudden, and bouts of nausea made her double over. The occasional bumping and jerking of the caravan didn't help at all.

Her eyes rolled over with giddiness. She didn't recognize the urge to throw up until then.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Teme." Naruto called out to the stoic boy riding on the horse next to him. And he didn't answer, regardless to the steady tic which was now forming on the blonde's forehead. Out of spite, the ramen-lover coaxed his steed to gallop faster. The poor animal gave a low, mournful neigh, trying his best, despite pulling a huge hunk of a caravan behind him, and carrying the load of the blonde sitting atop of him.

Naruto noticed this. "Sorry, ol' boy. I won't go any faster. I promise to give you your share of ramen and straw as soon as we take a break." He gave the said animal a light pat.

The animal cheered up considerably at the words 'ramen' and 'straw', and together with the warm pat, galloped faster, his back straightened.

Both Sasuke and his horse gave a snort.

Both Naruto and his horse glared back at them.

Oh yes. The race was _on_.

"Dolts!" Temari yelled from her horse, "Look ahead or you'll repent!"

"Naruto-kun, I'd rather have that horse alive than dead. Please calm down." Kabuto called out from the caravan behind her.

"Ne, Kabuto." Temari slowed down her horse to trot alongside his caravan. "We've been travelling for nearly two hours now, judging by the sun's position. I think it's time for all the horses to have their feed."

Orochimaru's accomplice rubbed his chin. "I've been thinking about it. But Orochimaru demanded our presence at Iwa as soon as possible. We'll continue for another hour."

"You have to, unless you want some horses to expire during that period." Temari remarked dryly.

"You are smart, Temari-chan." He smiled, emphasizing _chan _that it made something cold slither down her spine.

And that was how they were finding themselves camping on an open meadow.

Sasuke supervised all the unpacking and feeding of the horses.

"Konohamaru." He gestured for the boy to come over. The boy ambled towards him, and soon stood before him in a flash.

"Yes, Sasuke-sempai?"

"Did you feed your horse yet?" He asked monotonously, sneaking a peek at the half-dead, withered horse.

The boy nodded frantically, eager to please him. "Yes sir! My sister saw to it personally."

"Moegi?" Sasuke inwardly gave deep sigh. "Konohamaru, your sister has no other business other than flirting. You should know better, being her sister and all."

Konohamaru has the decency to look stunned. _The_ Sasuke Uchiha was explaining to him about the mindset of virtually insane female; a race he'd never understand.

A flirtatious giggle erupted in the background, as if to highlight the point.

He'd have to ask Naruto about a cure on that one. Both Sasuke and he were the only ones he ever looked up to. Although the latter, being Sasuke, was practically non-existent around him.

Sasuke eyed the little glowing squirt in front of him with a tiny, nagging feel of irritation. He had just earned himself another stalker.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Hinata slid her gaze to Temari. She had been unusually quiet since they had prepared their tent. She followed her gaze towards the more dense part of the scenery, where many trees were huddled up together. In a narrow clearing, a girl was moving fluidly, her agility remarkable. The Hyuga couldn't fathom what in the world that figure was doing. Leaning towards the engrossed blonde's side, she could see the maiden more clearly. Now she recognized the girl. She was one out of the many orphans that that had been bought as slaves while they were still young. She knew that girl from afar, but never really showed any interest to converse or interact with her. Now that she was thinking about it, most of the caravan group either kept their distance from her or blatantly ignored her.

There she was, Hinata couldn't remember her name, slashing the tall bamboo shoots neatly with her katana in one precise motion. She had two buns perching atop her head, and was wearing a dull, grayish-black yukata.

Tenten. The name rolled out of her tongue as soon as it struck her brain.

"What did you say?" Temari jerked her head to face her, her curiosity spiked.

"Tenten. Her name is Tenten." She slowly enunciated.

Temari's eyes softened. It wasn't surprising really; Hinata's ability to read her mind. She reminded her of her mother – a calm, straightforward woman with an aura of tenderness surrounding her .

Hinata knelt down beside her, her hair floating about, in a mystical manner. It was already late afternoon, and her face had a copper shine to them, reflecting the sky. She allowed her lips to crease upwards slightly.

"You can't really expect to understand all the people around you, Temari Chan."

They both looked on as the brunette slowly picked up her stances and readied herself, practicing her moves in a fleet of motion. Her arms swirled around in an arc, gracefully mimicking her stances for self-defenses.

"How carefree she is." Temari mused silently, capturing Hinata's attention.

"Some people are." She agreed, simultaneously losing her stammer. She didn't stammer. Not in front of anyone. Not anymore. That was dealt in the past and she was the proof of that. "Some people are when they attain happiness."

"I never knew you were this philosophical, oh wise one." Temari started dryly, shattering the mood of the moment.

Hinata simply gave a cheeky grin, staring at the all-too-dedicated Tenten, while Temari pinched her pale, adorable cheeks.

Xxxxxxxxxx

She desperately fiddled with the rusty lock. Judging by the spirals of holograms that flashed before her eyes, she needed to get out. And fast. The caravan had halted fairly some hours before, but she still couldn't find any solution to open the door. There were no windows, so she that she could jimmy them and flee. Groaning, she gave up, slithering down against the wooden wall, raking her slender fingers through her short boy-cropped raven hair. Her onyx eyes rolled back, she badly wanted to throw up, but couldn't. She hadn't eaten anything for straight three days and the apple which she had plucked off of the tree she had come across that morning was about the only replenishment she had. And she wasn't going to do something that might be fatal for her body.

'They won't let me starve, I digress. It would be foolhardy on their part.' It was true, part of her agreed. But the more logical part of her scoffed openly. 'They had left a plate of food behind in the caravan. And it isn't even worthy to be categorized as edible.' She didn't do as much as flinch when she pushed the crabby plate with its unimpressive contents toward her. She inhaled deeply and stared at it, willing herself to eat it. The logical part scoffed. Again.

'No way in hell I'm going to let you eat this pile of junk.'

'You really have a death wish, do you?' The more fearful, wise part of her reasoned.

'Food is food. It is nourishment for the body. All she'll have to do is take one deep, long breath and gulp it down.'

She resisted the urge to smack herself. She was calm and collected, after all… and she was pretty sure that smacking oneself was a sign of insanity.

'So is talking to oneself. Not to mention arguing.' The logical side of her pointed out.

She didn't really have any words for that.

It snapped suddenly. The control she had on her body snapped suddenly. She had to throw her insides out…well… whatever was left in 'em anyway.

"Hey Shikamaru!" She could hear an obnoxious voice hollering, pattering footsteps nearing her confinement. "The food for the hostage. I'm going to give it…eh? You are coming?"

There was a slight pause as she panted. The ingredient herbs used for the sedative was clearly having its own side effects. It was a common mistake for people to pick out the wrong type of raw herbs. Maybe that was the case. There must have been a mix up between a purge-inducing kind and another, paralyzing kind. Or there might be a crossbreed… Damn it all to hell! That wasn't her concern at all right now!

"I'll have to Naruto." Shikamaru drawled in the distance. "I have the key here."

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "That's right."

She heard a distinct, muffled voice. She didn't really care at this point. She had to do it!

She stared around pacing in circles; the fist thing which had popped into her mind at the spur of the movement.

She snapped her head towards the rickety-frame of the door, when she heard the sound of the lock rattling. They were opening the door. She furiously took long strides towards it-it really wasn't necessary-and her nose was only an inch apart from it.

With a tremendous creak, the small frame opened backwards, the darkness giving way to a spectacular flood of sunlight.

"Hey…" Naruto began, appetizer in one hand, cheerfully grinning like any waiter.

And she lost it.

It was all dumped on him, his blonde hair, the plate, his face

It continued for about twelve seconds-who knows-until she stopped, inwardly sighing from relief. She slowly wiped the corners of her mouth, fluttering her eyelids close.

"…" Sasuke, who had come in search of him, paused at the sight beholding him.

Shikamaru's eye twitched.

"What in the name of great Buddha happened here?" Temari casually asked, walking towards them all, followed by Hinata, in all her timid glory.

No one spoke anything. The fiery blonde processed the information in her brain.

And it wasn't really surprising when she broke down laughing, wiping off tears that tumbled off of the corner of her eyes. It was better to indulge in every pleasant moment of life, rather than moping about its harshness; right?

The onyx-eyed girl broke out of her quiet meditation of relief, shifting her eyes to the small collage of people, unsurprised. Gingerly stepping aside her own vomit, she proceeded to get out of the stuffy caravan.

"Hey!" The Uzumaki cried out in despair, disgusted. "What the hell was that supposed to be?"

"I'm really sorry." The girl dusted her tunic and spoke calmly, in a serene, peaceful manner.

Shikamaru tilted his chin to gaze at the fluffy clouds. 'Now I'll have to bring more food...' He sighed, feeling a twinge of guilt for the boy, who had his feet firmly planted onto the ground.

"Come on Naruto, unless you are planning to stay in that same spot and let it cake on you." He dryly pointed out.

"Wait." The raven haired enigma motioned.

The entire party halted abruptly, and looked at the girl inquisitively. Sasuke ignore her and walked up towards Shikamaru and handed out a satin scroll.

He accepted it wordlessly, silently observing the scroll. It was, without a doubt, a mission scroll.

Shikamaru stared after the disappearing figure of the avenger. He was leaving for a mission.

Temari watched the exchange with apparent disinterest, and looked over to Hinata to see that she was assisting Naruto with his haori. He had removed it, and she was now holding it in her hand, assuring him that she would wash it for him.

She jerked her head away from the pair. It was painfully pathetic; really. Such a reality didn't really exist. Her eyes met Shikamaru's, and she averted it quickly.

Temari looked back at the girl behind Naruto, staring up at the sky. She was disconcerted about the girl's appearance. She was as good as dead, swaying in the wind like a hollow twig. What bothered her was her black hair. It was very short, and gave her the appearance of a male. Assessing her hair which had some jagged locks, she deduced that the girl had cut it herself.

"Food." The girl mumbled loudly.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at her

"Get back in that caravan."

"Why are you here Temari Chan?' Naruto addressed her jovially, giving Hinata a blinding grin.

"Well then Shikamaru." Temari called out good-naturedly, pushing Hinata forward. "Kabuto told you people to get ready. The caravan is going to leave now. Bye Naruto."

The Nara waved it off, looking back his shoulder. "What ever."

He then turned to face the girl.

The blonde shrugged, pointing to the empty space where she was last seen standing. "Eh, she's disappeared."

He pinched the bridge of his nose in desperation. From what Temari had told him, there were only a few minutes left. Luckily, he didn't set up his tent, so that saved him the hassle of dismantling it. Sasuke would be leaving for a mission now, and he had to find out the runaway hostage. And fast. Temari's temper tantrums would be nothing compared to the troublesome extra slaving he'll have to do as a consequence of a failed mission. He didn't know her name, but the Mizukage's niece sure had some guts.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tenten bit the kunai lodged between her teeth, stealthily following the onyx eyed avenger, afraid of blowing her cover even while hiding under the thick cover that the dense forest had to provide. The entire forest was eerily quiet, save for some few rustles here and there and the quiet chirping of the birds. She nearly fell off the branch she was holding on to, as a huge squirrel scampered off behind here, looking for a suitable place to lodge its nuts. She screamed bloody profanities at it in her mind.

She had been training with her katana when Sasuke had entered the forest. She had a pretty good reason when it came to stalking him; she simply needed to fight with him – to ease her suspicions about him. Most of the slaves in her previous base whispered rumors about his strength. Maybe she would have a chance to prove them wrong.

Sasuke eased to a stop. Without even turning around he spoke, "Come out, I know you're there."

She froze, and jumped off of the branch with a snarl of annoyance.

His cold eyes spared her a fleeting glance, before he turned and walked away.

She kept her distance, following him.

"Leave." His voice echoed.

"Fine then." She smirked, unsheathing her katana. "I need you to spar with me. Then we'll talk."

"No." He dismissed her coldly. Tenten didn't allow herself to waver after hearing his one –worded replies; after all, she herself answered in the same way.

Without any warning, she rushed over to him, gripping her katana's handle firmly. He must have sensed the rustle behind him, for he simply sidestepped the oncoming slash and crouched, giving quick roundhouse kick which caught her off-guard. She wobbled dangerously on one leg, but regained her sense of momentum. Her wrist was twisted firmly and she gave out a clear yelp of pain mixed with shock at his speed. The katana was wrenched away from her. The wind came out of her as she felt a sharp kick on her abdomen, which sent her sprawling on the forest floor.

Her eyebrows knitted in furiousness and helplessness, as he indifferently walked away from her.

"His speed is incredible." She cringed as a dull sensation pierced through her gut at the spot where se had been kicked. Slowly, she got up, and stretched to ease her joints.

A wicked thought crossed her mind; she could escape. Escape from the life she was currently facing. Some people weren't wrong when they stated the fact that coordinated and well-thought out ideas come up in a spur of a weird moment. But curiosity sparked inside her, and without even sparing a glance at the path forged for freedom, she fearlessly followed the Uchiha – where in the world was he going?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

She panted as she ran, her feet making quick, calculated steps to avoid tripping over the roots and twigs which spread out multifold. The canopy of the forest was so dense, that she was sure the possibility to run onto a tree wasn't that far ahead. Her vision was limited in the dim light, but she felt secure, as she was sure that no one would come to search for her in a mile radius.

Like who would land smack with her in the middle of the forest?

Getting away wasn't a good idea, now that she came to think of it. Ah, lords, why her nature always had to land her into a trouble of some sort? It was not at all a wise idea travelling on an empty stomach, with no hopes of getting through the dense forest into the safe, solid arms of safety. Pausing in her tracks, she debated whether she should turn back to the cluster of caravans and spend the night there, or whether she should hunt for some berries or fruits.

The possibility of getting unknowingly poisoned in due time made her turn away from that plan. The unpleasant churning in her stomach was making her queasy. The wind gusted alongside silently, picking up her short raven locks and tossing them swiftly over her cheeks. Her fingers brushed them behind her ears, her eyes silently impassive as her will to go forward slowly dissipated. She had no goal to move towards now. Nothing. No family and home to return and look forward to. No friends to simply laugh about, even if she detested having to speak much. No life she could possibly walk around and enjoy, if only it was for a mere lonesome day. Slaving away was not considerable for her; she hated being a slave. It was a blatant show of freedom being forcibly locked away and tightly held in chains. But, it seemed to her a possible option and thus, a solution.

Then what should she do? Could she afford to waste away the rest of her life by allowing herself to be willingly captured by those ruthless slave owners and lords? It had a melancholy, dull strain on her mind, musing about it. Still, she had her fair share of hardships when it came to her life, so she wasn't really complaining. Looking back at her pathetic excuse for a tunic; she didn't even know how she had managed to stitch and come up with such a dreary piece of rag. And smothered with her caked dry blood and vomit, it wasn't exactly a big trophy for the eye either. She really had to take some practical lessons from some experienced seamstresses. That is, if she could get her hands on one of them. But this was simply a far sort of hopeless and an equally useless longing; it was added to the list of luxuries she couldn't get a hand on. A thrush crooned on, as she, completely oblivious to its annoying, yet mimicking human sound, chuckled softly.

'Irrelevant thoughts take up more time,' she thought, drawing upon a conclusion. She must be finally loosing her senility, talking and thinking like a wretched old hag.

And as she sauntered away, she made her decision. She would take a job up at Konohagakure no sato, maybe try her hand at babysitting; she had never officially taken up the menial task (for some), but she just felt right with toddlers and innocent brats. What made them laugh and smile childishly and petulantly, and so carelessly even in the most bizarre situations, was often a source of mystery for her. They way their grins stretched their faces and towered up till their eyes, she wondered that it was a sort of miracle that it didn't split out of the force applied. A crawling, creepy and almost horrifying smirk twisted her lips. It wasn't that she found children adorable; it was that she found pleasure in seeing the brats breaking down on their knees, sobbing. She was a person who grew up with the war around her and agonizing screams. The painfully pitched cries still rang in her ears from time to time. She witnessed the cold-blooded death of her entire family, so it was only natural that she had her own fair share of horror.

How it all came to this, she idly asks. But that was just a figurative statement and she knew better.

Sen knew better.

AN: Thank you for bearing with me! Although I'm in a dire need of constructive and appreciative reviews, the amount of visitors that has showed up on my profiles heartens me. Please feel free to review! So the chapter mainly revolved around one character, for the most part, and it was my Oc. Although I've not delved deeply into her character and personality, we can see that she is a very somber individuality, although not cold. She's very silent, and has a sense of humor.

**The time travel happens roughly in chapter five or four…** I dunno, but it'll come soon. No, there is no chakra. This is pre-historic Japan, in the 1700's. I've modernized it (partly because I've no idea of the Jedo period XD) for your sake. No ninjas but in the 'sparring' scene above, they are samurais.

I'll come when the plot bunny strikes, I promise!


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